Alumina based ceramics have long been used for a great variety of end product applications including kitchen and bathroom fixtures, dielectric insulators, electronic packages and substrates, wear nozzles, tool sharpeners, and textile guides. Various oxides have also been combined with the alumina material to modify the physical properties of the final sintered ceramic as well as its method of preparation. For example, a composite alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) and titania (TiO.sub.2) ceramic is reported in the technical article "Aluminium Titanate", Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Calcutta--32, India, Vol. 10, No. 4 (1963) along with is physical and dielectric properties. A different alumina and titania ceramic is also reported in U.S.S.R. Pat. No. 512,197 (June 1976) and which is said to have increased heat resistance and mechanical strength. In the U.S. Pat. No. 3,776,744 there is also disclosed an alumina ceramic which further contains at least 5% by weight of at least one transition metal and with the preferred transition metals being iron, chromium and titanium.
Electrically conductive ceramic guide articles are also known and generally comprise a titanium dioxide base ceramic composition wherein at least a portion of the titanium dioxide content has been reduced by heating in a reducing atmosphere to produce a dark uniform color in the final ceramic article. As the production speeds for man-made as well as natural textile fibers have increased, however, the wear resistance of said titanium dioxide base ceramic guides has not kept pace. While more wear-resistant alumina based ceramic guides are also known, this ceramic material has also been found inadequate by reason of: (1) having sharp angular alumina grains which abrade fibers too readily, and (2) being essentially an electrical insulator. Accordingly, it would be desirable to overcome both of said disadvantages for the alumina base ceramic guides in order to meet current production needs in textile manufacture as well as meet current operating speeds in related end product applications.